We are happy to announce our next new release

WILT – “Self Titled”

WILT combine old school metal and crust in a perfect hybrid that very few others have ever achieved. Prepare for a LP thats equal parts galloping d-beat crust reminiscent of bands like HELLSHOCK, and INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL, meets old school death metal in the vein of BOLT THROWER, MEMORIAM (old) SEPULTURA.

Here is a track from the upcoming LP

“Sermon for the Bootlickers”

Despite the inculcation of helplessness within each there remains great power. Ill at ease with such makes us ill. Learn to see the hand that feeds for what it is. You’ve been fooled if you think you’ve got no power. Refuse to be reduced to a consumer you’re a human being. Define yourself by more than wealth. Define yourself as a human. You don’t need what you’re being sold. Bend your knee to no authority but your own mind. You have the power to avoid the gilded trap. Avarice is what you’re conditioned for. Break the mold discover what’s really valuable to you.

WILT will be on in Europe this July / August will ELECTROZOMBIES From Chile

STORM OF SEDITION – “Decivilize” LP

Are you prepared to brave the storm?…

Brace yourself for one of the most uncompromising hard hitting and politically outspoken records of this era. STORM OF SEDITION are an anti-civilization anarchist crust punk band based out of Victoria BC. Sharing members with the mighty ISKRA you can definitely expect some serious blackened crust, and yes a huge metal influence is prevalent however STORM OF SEDITION are a bit more reminiscent of bands like CONTRAVENE & NAUSEA. “Decivilize” brings a heavy anarcho punk dynamic to the table combined with over the top blackened crust grind thats littered with blistering solo’s, insanely powerful drumbeats, and thought productive lyrics that challenge our current state of human civilization. All in all this is an absolute monster of a release!

Comes with a 12 page booklet containing lyrics, notes, and song explanations.

Clinging to the feeling of connectedness Personalized profiles, mass communication tools Monitored and funded by pigs Spying on people, on movements While corporations profit off government control Microsoft, apple, fedbook Endless lists of corporations Infiltrating our everyday lives The NSA, the CSE Databases created from what you share Information for incrimination Millions of people on terrorist watch lists Technology’s a weapon used against us

Its function is to propel their ability To efficiently exploit us and the natural world While doing so capitalizing off selling us Gadgets to distract us from the lives we live and hate

Turn off that shit, enter the real world You are not connected You are alone staring into a fucking a screen

Get outside, meet with real people! Even if we use these tools We must never forget

Technology is a system created by and for those in power And it will only exist with Division of labor, exploitation, and death

AUS-ROTTEN

“The System Works For Them” LP

-FINALLY RE-ISSUED AFTER 20 YEARS!-

Originally pressed in 1996 PROFANE EXISTENCE is bringing this quintessential anarcho punk masterpiece back in circulation.

All original artwork (label logos updated) with three different vinyl color options.

In 1996 AUS-ROTTEN released their first LP “The System Works For Them” on an unsuspecting punk scene. It spread like wildfire in a pre internet era within a genre that mostly depended on tape trading. (at least is was pre internet for us penniless punks) “The System Works For Them” was the perfect mix of anger and intelligence that the scene needed at the time (and still does today). It was like a wake up call that opened the eyes and ears to many punks the world over. The messages where crystal clear and most us were hooked as soon as the beginning shouts of “Boycott” bellowed over the speakers. I don’t believe any of us ever expected their message to resonate so well within the scene, but even more surprising is how the songs are just as relevant today as on they the day they were written. Which is why PROFANE EXISTENCE has decided to repress this record. We feel that that messages that AUS-ROTTEN brought to the table are to powerful to ignore. We feel that this LP is important and therefore should be highly available and priced affordably.

“The Battlefield Is Still Red” Bloodsplatter Edition.

PROFANE EXISTENCE has worked out every last detail of this release with the members of AUS-ROTTEN whom have been involved from step one. All tracks have been re-masted by Jay Matherson at the Jamroom studios. To be 100% honest we didn’t want to do a complete re-master of what we already considered a good recording. However when we opened the tracks on protools we noticed a few balance issues that required fixing. These fixes resulted in a tremendous upgrade to the overall quality of the tracks. We painstakingly scanned, puzzled, and photoshopped the original artwork to make sure that it was as close to authentic as it could possible be. We then went for broke by pressing in three different vinyl color combinations! Overall to say that we are pumped to release this would be an understatement, we are absolutely ecstatic to bring you this LP on PROFANE EXISTENCE!

“What Good Is Money, When There Is No One Left To Buy” T-shirt.

To top this all off we worked with AUS-ROTTEN vocalist Dave Trenga on redrawing the classic “What Good Is Money, When There Is No One Left To Buy” design for a T-Shirt to concede with the albums release. This is a fresh take on an old image to create a new and original design.

See through “Smoke” vinyl. Available at SKULLFEST/ PROFANE EXISTENCE 27th anniverseray party / record release show.

SILENCE

The Deafening Sound of Absolutely Nothing LP

Silence are a highly active post-punk/peace-punk band from Pittsburgh, PA. “The Deafening Sound of Absolutely Nothing” strives (and succeeds) to achieve the perfect balance between peace and post punk. By taking influences from The Mob, Bauhaus, Zounds, Killing Joke, Amebix, Crass, Conflict, Internal Autonomy and Joy Division SILENCE have created what can only be described a brilliant debut LP. At one moment this record is dark, heavy, and atmospheric and then the next moment it makes you want to dance and sing along. Lyrically SILENCE are much closer to the anarcho side of the previously listed influences. Lyrics focus on a variety of topics but often have a strong focus on the way punk and activist communities deal with political struggle in our current political climate.

“The Deafening Sound of Absolutely Nothing” comes with a 16 page magazine size zine containing lyrics, personal writings and song explanations. Designed, printed and assembled by the band themselves in true D.I.Y. fashion.

Silence will be having a record release show in their hometown of Pittsburgh PA at the Rock Room Friday April 22nd with SHADOW AGE and SKELETON HANDS. Then later this month SILENCE will embark on a full United States tour to support “The Deafening Sound of Absolutely Nothing”. Here is a list of dates. Be show to check in with the bands “bandcamp” or “Facebook” page for show updates.

LISTEN TO THE TRACK “WAR DRUMS” HERE.

When all that remains is a world in flames. Is that when they’ll say the wars are finally won? That wars are finally done?

They’re beating on the drums again, they’re fueling up the planes. The congressmen fall into line and sing the old refrain. In the name of peace they’ll burn the land and drop a thousand bombs.

Meanwhile we’ll just stay at home and go back to our sitcoms. It’s the same old song, we’ve heard it before. They’re beating the drums and they’re calling for war. What it’s supposed to accomplish, no one is sure But the victims are always the hungry and the poor.

Once the drums of war begin it’s hard to make them stop. The noise silences the dissidents once the bombs begin to drop. All those who call for peace will be mocked and pushed aside. In 10 years they’ll admit we were right after many thousands more have died.

Finally after many delays from the pressing plant the WARWOUND Demo’s LP “A Huge Black Cloud” is out and copies are moving fast!

Recorded in 1983, this record contains 15 songs from 3 sessions. With a few different takes you get a total of 25 blistering tracks. For those unfamiliar with WARWOUND, they are a UK band formed in 82. WARWOUND recorded 3 demos in 83 before disbanding and members went on to join THE VARUKERS and form SACRILEGE. These demos never received an official release… until now! Highly influenced by DISCHARGE, WARWOUND is one of the first bands ever to take D-Beat Punk to a raw and intense level. Recently reformed in 2015, original guitarist Damian is now joined by Ian Glasper on bass and Rat Varuker on vocals. After a few gigs in the UK word is spreading fast of the relentless onslaught of a live show these veterans put on. WARWOUND have also recently hit the studio to record for the first time in over 30 years. Needless to say WARWOUND is back with a vengeance!

“We are not giving up despite these harsh weather conditions, sacrificing time with our families, our jobs, our homes, not only to protect land, water and people but to ensure a brighter future for the next 7 generations. We are asking for more support, through road blocks to be in solidarity. This is not just an Elsipogtog issue, this is a global issue and we need to raise awareness. Show us support any way possible, sending thank you’s, road blocks, banners, even dropping by, all and every type of support is appreciated.”

The 3rd encampment in Mi’kmaq Territory, at HWY 11, which saw stand off’s between the Mi’kmaq peoples protecting the water and RCMP protecting corporate interests, is requesting widespread global support.

The Provincial Court of New Brunswick has approved an injunction which names 5 people, including “Jane” and “John Doe”, to target the HWY 11 encampment. This encampment has successfully turned away SWN vehicles and is preventing SWN from conducting seismic testing on unceded Mi’kmaq lands. Each day that SWN cannot conduct its testing, it costs the company $54, 000. SWN is once again looking to the RCMP to enforce the injunction most recently granted. At this time, the RCMP have used the injunction to target the Mi’kmaq and have set up a “check point” on HWY 11, where the RCMP stop vehicles to arrest passengers and drivers at their whim.

We remember the last time the RCMP enforced an injunction against the Mi’kmaq people. As seen historically, the RCMP will continue to enforce the violation of treaties and attack Indigenous self-determination. At this time, the RCMP are not only harassing Mi’kmaq Land Defenders and non-Native supporters, but continuing to throw them in jail. On Thursday, November 28th the Mi’kmaq again turned SWN away – declaring another day of victory. They are standing up against brutal police repression, and continued theft of Indigenous lands and ongoing colonization. Show them they are not alone! On Monday Dec. 2nd HWY 11 Land Defenders are asking you to show your solidarity by taking action in your community. Where possible, highway shutdowns are encouraged however any action of support, such as banner drops, are welcome. #ShutDownCanada

The Bunny Alliance will embark on the Gateway to Hell Tour this holiday travel season to demand that Delta Air Lines end its support of animal research and help stop the transport of animal to laboratories.

On December 26th, the founders of The Bunny Alliance will set out on a nationwide tour to hold Delta Air Lines accountable for its role in the vivisection industry. During this Gateway to Hell Tour, The Bunny Alliance will coordinate demonstrations at every Delta U.S. airport hub and at the Delta Headquarters in Atlanta, GA, as well as organize activist trainings for each tour stop.

The Bunny Alliance is targeting Delta Air Lines because it is in a strategic partnership with Air France and is its North America representative—and Air France is one of the last commercial airlines to continue the practice of shipping animals to labs. The campaign against Delta is to demand that they force Air France to place a permanent ban on the transportation of all animals being shipped to vivisection labs across the world.

The tour demonstrations will call on Delta Air Lines to stop Air France’s transport of animals to labs, garner media attention about the role of the airlines in vivisection, and educate holiday travelers about the animal cruelty that Delta supports. Additionally, the trainings at each tour stop will teach local activists about the campaign and how they can be involved. The trainings will also include “know your rights” and other activism tips, as well as information about how to act as a legal observer and deal with law enforcement at demonstrations to keep activists safe.

The Gateway to Hell Tour is being organized by the co-founders of The Bunny Alliance, Amanda Schemkes and Jordan Ezell. Amanda and Jordan have both been involved in the animal liberation movement for several years and have extensive experience with activism tours and anti-vivisection campaigns.

This update is going to be relatively short and sweet. Tour mode has really started to set in, and we’ve been bouncing from one club to another at a head-spinning rate. I write this from the floor of one of the various good-Samaritan houses we’ve been fortunate enough to sleep at, and after the last couple of days, we could really use a good nights sleep.

We played Lakewood in Cleveland, Ohio on the 23rd, and had the pleasure of seeing Nuklear Hellfrostand Vindicator play—both amazing bands compromised of amazing dudes. Andy from Nuklear Hellfrost put us up for the night, and after a reasonably epic party with our brothers in Ramming Speed, we woke up early to head towards Dayton, Ohio.

We got to the venue in Dayton, and all three bands loaded in at the same time… to discover that our ‘venue’ was also a professional wrestling arena. Immediately to the right of the stage is a full-sized wrestling ring, complete with ropes and turnbuckles, and our combined excitement was palpable throughout the night.

In Defence went on after the two badass local openers, Sub-X and Fleshwar, were done performing. After a healthy dose of Ben Crew’s usual banter, he called out a pro wrestler, Dave Crist of The Irish Airborne, challenging him to prove that pro wrestling was more powerful than The Force from ‘Star Wars’. Dave came up and shoved Ben into the crowd, to which Ben retaliated with a shoulder-bump of his own. Dave suddenly dropped low and side-kicked Ben right in the face, knocking his sunglasses off and sending him sprawling to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Just when it seemed as though Ben wouldn’t get up, he raised his hand in an imitation of Darth Vader’s Force Grip, and Dave’s hands flew to his throat, eyes bulging. People started realizing around that time that the whole confrontation was staged, but right up until the moment of telekinetic battle, people were ready to jump in and intervene (and Ben certainly did not fake getting kicked in the face).

After resounding sets by Ramming Speed and Toxic Holocaust—and subsequent autograph-signing and merchandise peddling by the bands—the fans filed out, and we went back out to the main room to discover that the wrestling ring had been uncovered, and the lights above it were on. Kevin Alter and Ben Crew immediately jumped in and started giving each other bumps, and moments later Dave Crist rolled into the ring, ready to show us how pro wrestling is done.

(Joel Grind at Rock Star Pro Arena)

I handed my camera off to Tony Hoff and jumped into the ring, and for the next half-an-hour we all received a bunch of bodyslams and submissions via Dave Crist. He is an incredible wrestler, and was able to back-flip (Moonsault), elbow drop, et cetera onto us multiple times… all without grievously injuring anyone. I took a few hard slams, and Kevin took a flying elbow drop from the top rope that left him writhing and crumpled in the middle of the ring. Ben Crew showed an amazing proficiency for the moves Dave was teaching him, and Dave even let him perform a few bodyslams and inverted drops onto him before the night was through. All of this was caught on film, and the video will be up on the In Defence facebook page within the next week. It was an amazing night, and we left the venue in very high spirits.

After a combined Toxic Holocaust/Ramming Speed/In Defence/Sub-X after-party, we headed to Detroit on the morning of the 25th. The venue, Magic Stick, is a sleek venue with a full-sized bowling alley in the basement and a large, spacious concert room upstairs. The place quickly filled up with over one hundred paying customers, and shortly after 7 PM Hellmouth and From Hell took the stage. This was one of the best shows of the tour as far as crowd participation goes, and during the performances of In Defence, Toxic Holocaust, and Ramming Speed, people were going absolutely crazy: circle pitting, crowd-surfing, and moshing like mad.

Throughout the show I was able to eat a ton of incredible food, drink some fine beers in the back room, witness Joel Grind’s pre-show warm-up of hip-thrusts and sexy dancing (sorry, Joel, I had to), and set up a portable audio unit owned by Nick Rage of Toxic Holocaust, to dub over the live videos I’ve been recording of their performances. We loaded our gear down the treacherous three flights of stairs after the show, then drove to the aforementioned good-Samaritan’s house to relax—or, in Phil Gnaast’s case, rip a phone book in half and light his farts on fire (Phil is probably one of the coolest fucking dudes I’ve ever met).

I was fortunate enough to listen to Joel Grind discuss his personal views on the music industry, his rise throughout the years from a DIY metal-punk living in Delaware, self-recording and self-releasing all of his music, to a professional musician, traveling the world and having his albums available throughout the globe. It was truly humbling and inspiring to hear about his journey, and as an amateur musician myself, it certainly inspired me to work harder and accept nothing less than the goals I have set for myself and the bands I am incorporated in (heyInvidiosus, Aetheric, Enter the Worms, Grind Fuck Railroad… I miss you guys, and you’d better be ready to get to work when I return).

We’re on our way to Reggie’s in Chicago tonight, and already I am dreading the end of this tour. I’ve learned a lot, met a ton of amazing people, and I’ve been fortunate enough to hang out with some of my favorite musicians and bands for days on end. I truly wish it would never end, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the necessary steps to continue (or at least incorporate, as often as possible) this lifestyle of traveling and performing in different places every night. Thank you all for reading, and I promise my next update will contain more awesome anecdotes about Ben Crew tumbling off stage during his performances, or Blake from Ramming Speed’s stories about puking fathers in Detroit, Michigan—seriously, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks to Nefarious Realm and Profane Existence for posting these updates, and I hope to metaphorically ‘see’ all of you again soon. Cheers, everyone.

As I type this, we are traveling from Virginia to Ohio, and it’s snowing like fucking crazy… I have not missed the Midwest whatsoever. Last night we were in Richmond, Virginia, as direct support for Municipal Waste… what an insane night. My hand is busted from an ill-fated stage-dive while holding a video camera (still worth it), and I’m exhausted from lack of sleep and this damned cold I caught a few days ago. Needless to say, I’ll keep this short and sweet.

We got to Richmond around 4 PM yesterday, loaded our gear into Kingdom (fucking awesome venue, by the way), and immediately went to the 3rd floor to locate our designated cases of beer and water. I ran intoLandphil from Municipal Waste up there, and we wandered down into the alley to drink beers and listen to KISS in the Ramming Speed bus. Landphil told us stories about traveling through Europe and crazy dudes who blink each eye independently, and after an hour or so we went back into the venue to catch the first band, Unsacred—catchy blackened thrash with elements of death metal.

In Defence went on next, and absolutely destroyed the place. The venue is expansive, with an upper balcony that looks down on the stage and main level, and from there I was able to film and photograph their entire set, complete with epic circle-pits and excellent crowd participation. Ramming Speed was amazing as per usual, and Toxic Holocaust fucking slayed—they are definitely one of those bands that performs exponentially better in larger environments, and seeing them perform in front of the 100+ people who had packed into the venue was incredible. The moshing and circle-pits didn’t stop the entire set, and everyone was energetic and ready for Municipal Waste to play.

Municipal Waste went on around 10 PM, and holy hell did they bring the place down. I haven’t seen such a large, consistent mosh pit in years, and there were a few pretty nasty fistfights between the “I’m not content to mosh, I need to throw punches and kick people in the face” dudes, and the regular thrash-heads who just want to mosh and have a good time. They played for the better part of an hour, and Kevin Alter, Ben Crew and I all took turns stage diving (hence the busted hand as I type this). As their last note was struck, people flocked to the stage to high five and shake hands with the band, and I went upstairs to recuperate and gather our merch together.

We loaded out shortly after the show was over, then headed to a corner bar (I forget the name, which speaks volumes to the quality of their beer.) The guys from M.W. came out and had a few drinks with us, along with the guys from Toxic Holocaust, Ramming Speed, and several other unexpected appearances—the drummer from GWAR showed up for awhile, and a member (who shall remain nameless) of Ghoul hung out with us as well. I talked with Tony Foresta of M.W. for a bit, sang along to crappy Metallica songs with Ramming Speed and Toxic Holocaust (holy fuck, Phil is hilarious,) and we partied reasonably hard before heading to our designated hotel for the night.

We saw some dude clad in an Oreo Cookie jacket trying to pick a fight with another guy in the parking lot outside, and waited for the scuffle to break up before leaving. Matt Sexton was kind enough to provide us with a free hotel room for the night, and we all crashed out immediately after flopping down inside our room.

I’m about ready to fall asleep again—this sickness, for the thousandth time, be damned—so I’ll wrap this up for the time being. Check out the In Defence band page, or my personal Facebook page, for more ridiculous photos and videos from the last couple of days. Thanks for reading; I’ll update again within the next day or two. Cheers,

HARD CHARGER have been rather active in the Canadian scene for the last nearly 8 years, having released a handful of LPs, 7″s and splits. This is their first release for the newish label Primeval Sounds, based in Quebec City Quebec. This band wears their influences on the sleeves of their leather jackets, and one can definitely hear a ton of old school metal in the mix.
Chrome lord is 6 trax of blazing “hold em high” thrash punk with gasoline soaked vocals, galloping drums, thrash riffs galore, and really wicked guitar solos on fully half of the songs. The string tones provide a fuzzy warmth that not enough bands use today. They even throw in a couple multi – vocal parts for the choruses of some of the songs. This band really knows how to bring back the good parts of past heavy metal while cutting out and throwing away the absolute crap.
Lyrical matter on this record is maybe even more varied than the music. The album opener, Chrome Lord, is about a heavy metal giant that’s hellbent on destruction. Doc Ellis is a song about having to work to get by in society, even though you know it’s just a pointless waste of time. Burn the Rich is rather self – explanatory, but does have a really awesome solo to boot as well as a band chorus. Only The Grave is a sado – masochistic nightmare (or wet dream?), a song which has a great old school guitar solo that Lynnard Skynnard on speed would’ve been proud of. Spitting Venom has a cool time switch on the drums throwing in to a pseudo breakdown towards the end of the song before album closer “Wolves of Bedlam” fires up. “Wolves…” is a story of a mindless zombie nation produced by too much TV and social conditioning. It’s filled with guitar noodling for half of the one minute that it plays.
None of these songs even reach the two minute mark (although Only the Grave gets really close). Nope, these six songs are just really great Canadian punk filled with sweet metal goodness. It’s nice to see solos and breakdowns in this style of punk, without layering on the cheese like some others do.

This awesome record was recorded March 2013 in Fredericton New Brunswick, and then mastered by Dan @ Mammoth Sound.

A new band from the midlands of England, INTERNAL ROT perform politically charged crust metal. This is the band’s first release, with 5 solid as a rock songs to kill yer eardrums. They play a style of crust that seems to becoming popular as of late. Make noise, not music.
The CD starts with a very “crust core” approach via guitar and drums, which provides a taste of what will be blazing through the speakers for the better part of the next 20 minutes. Dual vocals add more layers, covering death metal growls as well as the shrieking rage of grindcore. Both guys on vox share the duties rather evenly in every one of the songs, adding some real complexity to the assault of INTERNAL ROT. Drums keep a modern war crust beat covered in the stench of ages, but also reminds one of the milder side of grind (not as many blast beats). The guitar and bass keep a groove on it all, and the bass especially shows how much it leads the songs with the intro for Inspired By Bullshit, a completely anti – religious assault with double bass blast beats and, of course, the trademark dual vocals.
The lyrics for Inspired by Bullshit are taken from real world experience of watching drug addicts become religious zealots in order to clean their shit up. These new “warriors of christ” are just as dangerous on religion as they were on drugs, but now they feel justified in their actions. Yet they are still weak, because they have to resort to a book to get off the drugs, instead of finding strength within themselves. As an American, I see this bullshit every day I walk the city streets or ride the bus in Minneapolis. The political song Internal Rot is about how political corruption makes the system rot from the inside out until nothing is left but a weak façade, ready to crumble at the slightest kick.
Another stand out lyric / song is ep title song “Wel – Fair State”, a tirade about people that abuse the welfare system (such as the Dole in UK), by declaring themselves invalids or unable to work, and make a career out of government handouts, instead of trying to improve themselves so that they can be completely independent from the spider – web social system. Tom “Kerry King” McKenna of HELLSWORN provides a really kick ass old school thrash metal inspired guitar solo on this album closing song.
Recorded, mixed and mastered @ CM Studios Coventry by Neil Williams of ABYSMAL AUDIO.

Right now Blake Charlton from Ramming Speed is playing Mario Kart on SNES next to me while Jonahand Kallen sew their pants together… Ramming Speed is fucking awesome. Last night was absolutely the craziest night of tour so far—I don’t even know where to start

We got to Mojo’s in Newark, Delaware around 5 PM, and immediately upon getting out of the van Kevin Alter jumped into a dumpster and started pawing through some of the thawed, expired food within. He picked out some kind of pot pie with an expiration date of November, 2000, and moments later Ben Crew had cracked it open and taken a bite—only to promptly spew it all back out in a violent bout of dry-heaving. Blake appropriately followed suite by eating several crab cakes that were at least 5 years old, which to our amazement he managed to chew up without barfing.

James Claypool and I went to a co-op next door and got some delicious vegan sandwiches, and after that we went back to the venue to sit around and bullshit with Ramming Speed and Toxic Holocaust. The local bands performed, and both were pretty sweet—Bad Coke laid down some crusty, pissed-off power violence, andTraitor delivered a crossover blend of melodic, progressive thrash.

In Defence took the stage next, and as always, Ben Crew turned a regular show into an insane mosh-party, complete with dudes choking each other out in the pit, an exorbitant amount of Delaware jokes, a failed high-kick attempt (Ben held his hand up and someone attempted to Crane-kick it Karate Kid style, only to promptly flip backwards and eat shit), and a bunch of other insane antics. Ben threw the mic at me at one point, and I did a few lines from ‘The Police are Fucking Rad’ while he picked up some hardcore dancer and threw him into the crowd. Their set ended with Ben shouting “thank you, New Jersey,” and I had to rush back to the merch table to sell loads of shirts and vinyl to their eager fans.

Ramming Speed was amazing as usual, and Ben and Jimmy moshed around in the pit with helium balloons attached to their belts. Ramming Speed is a damn good band at getting the crowd involved no matter what, and their vocalist Pete Gallagher’s energy on stage is palpable and infectious.

Things really started to get crazy once Toxic Holocaust took the stage—they played razor-tight, and their stage presence is consistently demanding and powerful. I had spoken to Joel Grind before the show about doing guest vocals for ‘Nuke the Cross,’ and after the first verse of the song I jumped up on stage and grabbed Phil’s microphone. I did the 2nd and 3rd verse of the song, and got picked up to crowd surf almost immediately during the 2nd chorus. Being up there with Joel, Phil, and Nick was honestly a personal highlight in my career as a metal vocalist, and even though I was sick with a sore throat and shaky with beer-fueled adrenaline, I did the lines pretty well, and left the stage feeling impossibly excited and euphoric.

After the show, things started to come off the rails. Ben Crew, who rarely—if ever—drinks alcohol, drankan entire bottle of Apple Pucker in under 30 seconds. He ran around high-fiving people for a few minutes, drank some lady’s Jack and Coke out of her hand (and was swiftly kicked in the balls hard enough to drop him to the floor), then calmly walked outside, opened the front door to the venue, and puked EVERYWHERE. I stood around filming him barfing for about thirty seconds before nearly puking myself from the sound/visual of him spewing Shrimp Po’ Boy all over the sidewalk. He handled it like a champion, and was sturdy-footed enough to help us load out minutes later. Ben is one of the nicest, most knowledgeable dudes I’ve ever met, but man is he a crazy motherfucker sometimes.

In Defence and Ramming Speed traveled to Baltimore, Maryland around 1 AM, and partied at the house of Jane Vincent from Curse before falling asleep in heap on her floor at 4 AM. I am going to sign off now, and work on some of these ridiculous videos of Ben chugging Apple Pucker and Blake eating stale crab cakes, but I will update again soon. As always, thanks for reading.

Here’s a brief recap on last night’s show in Birmingham, Vermont: it was fucking awesome. Definitely the best show of tour thus far—all the bands were really happy with their performances, the sound was great, and the crowd was exceptional. Free food, a gritty little green room in the basement, and all the craft beer we could drink (well, almost); it was one of those nights where everything goes off without a hitch, and we left Nectar’s in high spirits.

It was the first night where all three of the touring bands stayed at the same house, with Boston’s Led to the Grave joining us as well. Toxic Holocaust, In Defence, andRamming Speed all got to our gracious hosts house at the same time, and we immediately started playing horrible Metallica videos and drinking cheap beer.

Kevin Alter assumed his Macho-Man alter ego after downing a dozen beers (if you know Kevin, you know what I’m talking about) and wasted no time in pro-wrestling the fuck out of some dude who was hitting him with a Slim Jim. Joel Grind, Phil Gnaast and I took turns playing songs from horrible bands—Texas Hippie Coalition, Attack Attack, and ‘Load’-era Metallica were all given a spin—and the night quickly turned to a drunken dude-fest… all while half the members from our respective bands attempted to sleep in an adjacent room. Sorry, guys.

I threw myself into the van around 4 AM after realizing there was no way in hell I’d be able to sleep with all the partying going on, and then proceeded to freeze, cough, and snivel my ass off through a few hours of semi-consciousness. We hit the road at 9 AM and I was first to drive, and to my surprise I actually felt much better once I got behind the wheel. I navigated us through the beautiful Vermont countryside, passing mountainous regions, lakeside villages, Amish buggies, and sprawling hills and forests

We arrived in Middleton around 3 PM, and went straight from the venue to ROCK FANTASY, the coolest record-store/pinball arcade/smoke shop I have ever seen. The touring bands were set to do a ‘meet and greet’, and they were understandably a bit apprehensive, but upon arrival we learned that said ‘meet and greet’ was really just an opportunity for us to drink PBR, eat pizza, and play pinball to our hearts content. Hanging out in that back room, shooting pinball and drinking beer, was definitely one of my personal highlights for this tour—bullshitting with the guys from Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, hearing about their exploits and travels overseas, and witnessing fans approach them for autographs on magazines they’d appeared in: Decibel Magazine (Toxic Holocaust) and Terrorizer(Ramming Speed). We even got photographed by a photographer that has worked with Death, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Led Zeppelin, and Overkill, which was quite the honor.

The show at Sounds Asylum went over reasonably well, albeit with a smaller crowd than we’ve grown accustomed to. I did guest vocals for In Defence again (and this time I didn’t fuck my lines up), Ben Crew got people to stand on ego boxes in the middle of the floor and attempt to throw each other off, and some hardcore dancer smashed me in the throat with a spinning backfist during Toxic Holocaust’s set. After word we slammed a few beers outside, packed up our things, and hit the road back to Philadelphia (for the 3rd night in the last week!) to rest up for tomorrows gig in Newark, Delaware.

I have a veritable ton of live video, photos, and random bits of drunken debauchery to upload, so I’d better get to it before I pass out. Thank you for reading, and I promise that these updates will only continue to get better as this tour progresses—we’ve reached the point already where all the bands are getting along easily, and we get into some crazy shit when we’re all together. Until next time,

I am writing this from behind the merch table at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont. I’ve already acquired my first tour illness, and I’m attempting to wash it away with Magic Hat beer and copious amounts of gravy-laden French Fries… I’ll update the results of this makeshift remedy later on.

Last night we played in Providence, Rhode Island, at a bad-ass upscale venue calledDusk. It was right in the middle of a sketchy industrial district, but the turnout was great and the crowd ate up our tour package (cue Beavis and Butthead laughter).

I woke up in Philadelphia to the smell of acrid smoke and burning food; Ben Crew has had terrible luck with cooking on this tour, such burning his shirt in an oven while trying to dry it off (at 410 degrees, for an hour) in Indiana. In this particular instance, Ben had burnt a bagel after getting it stuck in a toaster. Jeff Nicholas doused it in water to stop it from smoking, then threw it away… only for Ben to grab it out of the garbage moments later and eat it, burnt and soggy as hell.

On the way to Rhode Island, we saw an epic statue of some crazy-ass disembodied horse head, and in a field nearby was a man casually standing over the bloodied corpse of a dead deer, hands in pockets and pensively staring at the gaping wound in its side. I guess that’s New York for you.

We got to Dusk around 7:30 PM, and Jeff and I immediately hopped in Ramming Speed’s paraplegic party bus to drink beer and debate over how awful/worthwhile their rotten, fungus-filled cooler was. Venomizer opened the show, and the place instantly filled up with metalheads and thrashers.

In Defence went on 2nd, and put on an awesome show: Ben acquired a bullet belt, and his ridiculous banter in-between songs had people laughing and cheering. I slipped on beer while moshing for them and crashed into the bar, then grabbed a mic during ‘The Police are Fucking Rad’ and did backing vocals for the song. They ended their set to the thunderous applause of the eighty-some people in attendance.

Ramming Speed went on 3rd, and I really dug their performance—they are incredibly tight live, and their energy and passion is make that evident from the first note struck to the last. I filmed a few of their songs, and I’ll be periodically uploading footage of them (along with In Defence and Toxic Holocaust) throughout the tour. No complaints from me whenever those dudes are playing.

Toxic Holocaust played last, and once again, they fucking destroyed the place. They are just impossible not to love; they are amazing performers, their live set is perfectly chosen, and Joel Grind’s introductions to each song make it impossible not to mosh and get sucked into their music. Phil is an incredible bassist, pounding his chest and headbanging like mad while he plays, and Nick is a madman on the drums—he broke his snare at one point, ran and grabbed another one from Ramming Speed, and was playing the next song within a minutes time.

We went to the house of Nicholas Adams along with Toxic Holocaustto party after the show, and he entertained us with some badass hardcore records and stories about his experiences working at a tattoo/piercing shop. I fell asleep around 4 AM to the cacophony of Joel, Nick, and Phil all snoring in unison, and woke up at one point to Phil stepping on my arm while trying to find the bathroom—no hard feelings dude, I’m sure I’ll get you back at some point on this tour.

In Defence headed out from Providence around noon, and hit an awesome vegan bakery on the way out. I slept most of the ride—god damn this cold—and woke up when we were passing through Boston, Massachusetts. We got to the venue and immediately set to drinking craft beer and consuming dollops of rice, peppers, chicken, and salad, and as I type the local band Led to the Grave is shredding to a packed room. I need to go set up my camera gear to film Ramming Speed, In Defence, and Toxic Holocaust, but I will update again within the next day or two. Thanks for reading my Nyquil-induced ramblings, and I look forward to updating you all again soon. Cheers.

Tonight was In Defence’s first gig with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, and it was definitely a night to remember. I am exhausted from drinking, moshing, and eating, and I’ve got to write this review as quickly as I can—the last few nights I’ve been up until five or six in the morning writing these bastards, and if tomorrow night is anything like tonight, I’m going to need some extra rest and energy.

We left Philadelphia around 2 PM, and made it to The Championship Bar in Trenton, New Jersey in under an hour. We bummed around Trenton for a couple of hours, taking in some sights and enjoying the warm weather. Ben Crew and I were goofing around in a convenience store, and Ben decided to purchase a gallon of whole milk… I knew this was something sinister right off the bat, so I pulled out my camera and turned it on right as we walked out the front door. Ben told me he was going to attempt ‘The Vegan Challenge’—I have no fucking clue what ‘The Vegan Challenge’ is, and I don’t think Ben did, either)—and without preamble began to chug the entire gallon. He got about ¾ of the way through then suddenly sprayed milk everywhere, threw the carton down, and said, “fuck it, I guess I lose.”

Once we arrived back at the venue, we finally met the guys in Toxic Holocaust andRamming Speed. I talked to Nick Rage, Toxic’s drummer, about their song “Bitch” being used in the T.V. show ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ and we were able to catch the opening local acts:Paralysis & Valacar were awesome old-school thrash (played by young kids, too!), andMidnite Hellion laid down some epic, symphonic power-metal. In Defence put on their tightest performance so far on this tour, and when people weren’t moshing for some of their crazier numbers, I started up a couple of circle pits and got people ready for Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed.

Ramming Speed went on around 9:30, and instantly brought the place down with their unique blend of death-thrash, combining intense grooves with stomping mosh riffs. Toxic Holocaust went on shortly thereafter, and it was absolutely my favorite performance I’ve seen of theirs: they played tight as hell, the crowd was energetic and excited, and the overall atmosphere was intimate and incredible. It’s one thing to see a band you love in a huge, sold-out venue, but it’s something else entirely to see that same band destroy a medium-sized room, then exit the stage to a rush of fans and autograph-seekers.

We stood around drinking Yuengling and bullshitting with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed after the show, and the members of both those bands are really relaxed and down-to-earth. I helped Nick Rage load Toxic’s gear out, then went and shotgunned a couple beers with Ramming Speed in their handicap-bus-turned-tour-van. In Defence hit the road back to Philadelphia around 1:30 AM, and we got back to Loopy’s house around 2 AM. I would write more about how awesome tonight was, but honestly I’m wiped out and ready to drink the rest of this Hamm’s and go to bed. Tomorrow is our 2nd day with Toxic Holocaust and Ramming Speed, and if tonight was any indicator, it will be a fucking rager. Thanks for reading, I will post again tomorrow when my wits are gathered. Stay safe, and nuke that fucking cross.